Looking for an easy Christmas craft? This cinnamon stick Santa and Elf craft is so simple to make. This would be a wonderful addition to the Christmas tree or a frugal Christmas craft to sell at your local craft fair. Years ago, I bought a ton of cinnamon sticks when I made a cinnamon stick centerpiece for fall. Ever since, I have been trying to come up with creative ways to use up the rest of them! As I was browsing through Pinterest I discovered tons of DIY Christmas ornaments and crafts that use Popsicle sticks. Many of these … [Read more...]

These toilet paper roll fire starters are a great way to make campfires start blazing quickly. There is certainly no shortage of toilet paper tubes in most households. With a family of 4 and 3 bathrooms in my house, we go through quite a bit of toilet paper. For every roll of toilet paper that gets replaced, I am left with one empty cardboard tube to dispose of. Most of the time, those toilet paper tubes end up in the recycle bin but there are plenty of creative ways to reuse them. If you are a fan of camping or bonfires, you can turn that … [Read more...]

This cinnamon stick centerpiece is perfect for people who get excited about recycled crafts! With the holidays coming quickly, I am already seeing tons of holiday decor in the stores. You can't step foot into Target or even the grocery store without seeing some sort of Halloween, Thanksgiving and even Christmas merchandise. I try hard not to spend a lot of money on holiday decor. It just isn't really something that is hugely important to me. I love how simple this cinnamon stick craft is and putting a homemade fall centerpiece on the table … [Read more...]

If you learn how to make magnesium oil, you can save yourself a ton of money as you soothe your aches and pains. Over the last several years, I have suffered from an assortment of physical problems, all of which are muscular in some way. Muscle knots that won't go away, a bad back, aching feet and a host of other issues. I have spent countess hours and dollars on doctors, therapists and nutritional supplements for inflammation. Like most humans, I have Googled my health issues extensively. Everything I have read indicates that magnesium plays a … [Read more...]

Learning how to get aloe vera gel from your aloe plant is a handy skill to have! My son recently had a bad experience with a chemical hand sanitizer. We rarely use them but we were out and about and I didn't have any other option. After the rash cleared up, I decided to make homemade hand sanitizing spray for those times when we couldn't get to soap and water. I searched around on Pinterest and Googled a few things to find out how to do this. Most articles seemed to say "combine alcohol with aloe vera gel and add essential oils'. I could do … [Read more...]

This DIY wood butter recipe is a must have item for anyone who does a lot of cooking from scratch. I have about 10 cutting boards in all shapes and sizes and they are looking their age! There are gigantic ones for rolling out pie crusts (which I HATE doing!). I have tiny ones for chopping up a jalapeno from the garden to put on our pizza. When you wash wood cutting boards multiple times a day, they get dried out fairly quickly. What happens when your cutting board gets dried out? They split in half and you are left with very expensive fire wood … [Read more...]

If you are looking for a ginger bath recipe, the one I use is incredibly easy to make at home. Over the last few years I have had to deal with chronic pain that is incredibly frustrating. According to the dozens of doctors I have seen there is nothing 'technically' wrong with me. Except that I hurt. All. The. Time. My neck hurts, I get random muscle spasms, my feet ache...it is incredibly frustrating. They just tell me to take Advil and a muscle relaxer and get used to it. While I do have to use traditional medicine for my pain occasionally, I … [Read more...]

Every winter, my lips get horribly chapped and dry. I admit, I am a lip balm addict and never go anywhere without it in my purse. This Manuka honey lip scrub recipe is an easy homemade lip treatment if you suffer from the same winter lip problems that I do. Adding this homemade lip scrub to my shower routine will (hopefully!) give me smooth, healthy lips that are totally kissable before Valentine's Day rolls around next week! Check out my other sugar scrub recipes if you need moisturizing and exfoliating on the rest of your body as well! … [Read more...]

Having grown up in New England, I can honestly say that I really enjoy fall and winter weather. I love the smell of leaves and the feel of a crisp breeze. What I don't love, however, is the dry skin that comes with turning the heat on in my house. This DIY moisturizing body wash for dry skin is an easy way to restore the moisture to your skin that the dry air just sucks right out of your body. If you love homemade beauty products, you could also try my Lavender Honey Milk Bath Recipe. Castile Soap is a Must Have Item for Natural … [Read more...]

I was recently digging around in what I call my 'bag of ribbon' when I realized that I needed to find a DIY ribbon organizer to make my art closet a tad bit neater. Since I had no desire to spend a lot of money on a ribbon organizer, I hit Pinterest to see what inspired me. I came across several creative people who had taken household objects and upcycled them into a homemade ribbon organizer that is perfect for Christmas ribbon or any type of thin ribbon that you find in craft stores. There are power tools involved in turning a tin can into a … [Read more...]

Tis the season for candy canes and my family could not be any happier. Not only do I love the TASTE of candy canes, but I love the smell of them as well. This easy candy cane sugar scrub recipe requires no actual candy canes, although you could crush some up and put them in there if you would like. During the winter, I probably make a sugar scrub recipe just about every month. The exfoliating and moisturizing properties of homemade sugar scrubs help keep skin smooth and silky during the dry winter months. My whole house smells wonderful right … [Read more...]

Despite the stress and the added burden to my credit card, this is my all-time favorite part of the year. I love the holiday season, from cookie baking to the smell of wet leaves in the air. Thanksgiving and Christmas mean spending time with family, plenty of cookies to bake, and fires in the fireplace. If you are having company over this month, you may be looking for simple dinner place setting ideas to decorate your holiday table. Well, you don't have to look farther than your grocery store and the very versatile cranberry! Making DIY place … [Read more...]

I have just started pulling out the fall decorations and getting into the spirit of all things pumpkin. I decided to get out my glue gun this afternoon and tackle an easy terra cotta pumpkin craft that I came across on Pinterest. This flower pot craft would make an easy teacher's gift if you have young kids. It'also a cute way to keep the dog from eating the candy I like to leave on the entertainment center. Thankfully, for her anyhow, out of sight means out of mind and she ignores them! Leave an open dish of candy corn out there and she … [Read more...]

If you are frugal and crafty, DIY Halloween centerpieces are a great way to add a bit of holiday spirit into your home. While I was searching through Pinterest for Halloween crafts, I found upcycled wine bottles that were painted to look like candy corn! I am going to let you in on a small secret...I LOVE candy corn. Yup, I can't lie..for some reason, that stuff just calls to me! It's not healthy, natural or organic but every year I buy a bag or two and holler at my teens when they eat it all. I thought candy corn painted wine bottles would … [Read more...]

Fall is my all time favorite season and this all natural crock pot air freshener will make your home smell festive as the days get shorter and colder. While I have a weakness for candles, they definitely aren't cheap. Particularly the really nice soy wax ones with essential oils. I really love those! Of course, burning a candle all day pretty much means the I am spending about $15 a day in candles which really doesn't work for my budget. I decided to put together a few of my favorite fall foods and let them simmer in my crock pot all day. The … [Read more...]

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Tom’s of Maine for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine. With Earth Day coming up soon, I hope that everyone is taking a few minutes to think about ways to reduce their carbon footprint. How many times have you purchased wrapping paper or a fancy gift bag to give someone a gift in? Is that really necessary? Is it possible that you could save yourself some money and repurpose something you have at home instead? DIY Gift Box Ideas that Save Money and Reduce Waste
Do you have any idea how … [Read more...]

The last few weeks have been fairly stressful and I was thankful to have this easy lavender DIY oatmeal milk bath recipe on hand. I finally got the taxes finished (YAY!) and the check has been sent off to the IRS (BOO for no refund this year!) I spent the weekend teaching a 17-year-old how to drive and volunteering at my daughter's Girl Scout cookie booth sale. Between paying the bills and dealing with housework, there wasn't a lot of 'me time' and I am determined to change that this week. My need of stress reduction led me to today's … [Read more...]

I absolutely love the mishmash of Christmas ornaments that make up our tree every year and these bottle cap snowmen are the perfect addition! There are handprint Santas, popsicle stick snowflakes and an assortment of other creative homemade decorations. Absolutely nothing matches and there is no color scheme at all but the Christmas tree is a collection of memories that go back as far as my own childhood. Now that my kids are teens, they aren't really into making crafty Christmas ornaments anymore but I decided to get out my glue gun this … [Read more...]

Chilly weather is the perfect time for getting crafty! It's incredibly easy to make these DIY decorative candle holders from all those old coffee mugs in your kitchen. Don't try and tell me you don't have too many coffee mugs! Do you ever open up your coffee mug cabinet only to find dozens of unused mugs crammed in there? I bet you do! I am a regular tea and coffee drinker, however, I have my favorite one or two mugs that I choose from every day. And unless I invite 37 people over for coffee at one time, there is absolutely no reason for me to … [Read more...]

Hello! I'm Diane. I'm a busy mom of hormonal teens who is trying to go green, get healthy and simplify life one baby step at a time. Click the photo to learn more about me or email me at [email protected]